splendid. I am very sorry that our President was shot, and I hope
he will get well again. This is the second year I have taken YOUNG
PEOPLE, and I hope to take it next year.
FRANK R.
* * * * *
GADSDEN, ALABAMA.
Mother told me a good while ago that if I could succeed in getting
on the Roll of Honor at school, she would give me a dollar, and my
brother, who was here at the time, promised me another one. I was
successful, and received the money. Mother thought I would better
take a paper than do anything else, so I selected this one.
I am only twelve, but am large for my age.
SARAH L. D.
* * * * *
AUBURN, NEW YORK.
I am a little girl almost eleven years old. I receive YOUNG PEOPLE
every week through my grandma's kindness. I like the letters in the
Post-office Box very much. I live in Buffalo, but am spending my
vacation here. I want to tell you what my little brother did the
first Sunday in vacation. My cousin, brother, and I were swinging
in the hammock, while the older people were sitting in the grape
arbor. Gussie, my little brother, got in the hammock, and I began
to swing him, when he turned a somersault right around the hammock.
We thought that he would cry, but he did not, and my cousin said
that he was very brave. I began to take music lessons a few weeks
ago, and am getting along nicely. I think the "Cruise of the
'Ghost,'" the "Moral Pirates," and "Aunt Ruth's Temptation," were
splendid stories, and so is "Tim and Tip" thus far.
H. MAUDE S.
* * * * *
MOUNT WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA.
We have been taking HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE ever since it has been
published, and HARPER'S WEEKLY for twelve years, and like both very
much.
I would like to tell the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE how to make a
pleasant drink of herbs. Take equal parts of yarrow, plantain,
golden-rod, ground-ivy, pennyroyal, and dandelion; cover them with
water, boil half an hour, sweeten the liquor with two pounds of
sugar or a pint of molasses, add one and a half cakes of yeast, and
one tea-spoonful of ginger. When done, add a little cold water,
steam, and put in bottles. Allow it to stand overnight.
ANNA C.
* * * * *
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
I have no sisters, but have a brother twenty-one years of age. I
have no living pets, but have a great many dolls and toys. I have a
swing in the yard, and I often treat my dollies to a ride in it.
FLORA L. A.
* * * * *
LAUZAL, CALIFORNIA.
We live on All-Saints' Bay, a hundred miles from San Diego. The
name of the ranch is Lauzal. Our house is a little way from the
beach. I am taking YOUNG PEOPLE this year, but do not receive it
every week, as our mail goes to San Diego, and we depend on people
who are passing to bring it out to us. We sometimes have to wait
for it several weeks.
We have goats, sheep, horses, cows, two dogs, and a cat. One of our
dogs was wrecked on a schooner, and when she was brought to me was
a forlorn little puppy, but she is now a good-sized dog. As I have
no sisters nor brothers, I have to depend on my animals for
playmates. The nearest neighbors are six miles away. I am twelve
years old.
ROBERTO F.
* * * * *
EDNA, MINNESOTA.
We live away out on the prairies. We are two miles from the
Post-office. We have no public schools here, but our sister teaches
us at home. I have a little black dog named Jack, who will not lie
down without his cushion, and barks and barks until I get it for
him. I sometimes ride on horseback, though I have no side-saddle. I
am twelve years old.
MARY M.
I am Mary's brother Bertie. I am seven years old. I do not like to
go to school. I would rather be out on the farm with the boys. I
was out in the wheat field when there were 618 men at work there. I
have a cat named Stubbs, and a colt named Toby Tyler. He will shake
hands with me, and take off my hat.
BERTIE M.
* * * * *
TREMPEALEAU, WISCONSIN.
We live in Trempealeau County. This is a beautiful village,
situated on the banks of the Mississippi. My brother, with his
wife, baby, and myself, and four other persons, with their
children, took tents lately, and camped out at a place called
Spring Slew. We had a very nice time, but were annoyed by the
mosquitoes. We would like to exchange pressed ferns and oak leaves,
for the same from any other State. The ferns are to be sent to
Lizzie, and the leaves to Dena. Can those who are not subscribers
be on the exchange list?
LIZZIE HEUSTON,
DENA MCDONALD.
All readers, as we have said before, are entitled to become exchangers.
They need not be subscribers to possess this privilege. We find it
necessary to ask exchangers to be as brief as possible when writing an
exchange. We have been obliged to condense some exchanges into half
their original space, and still there are boys and girls who have been
waiting their turn to appear for many weeks. When your exchange has been
published, do not send another for some time. Let others state their
offers first before you try a second or third time. Unless you could see
with your own eyes, you would hardly believe what a host of exchanges
arrive at the Post-office Box every day, and it would not do to fill
YOUNG PEOPLE with them, and crowd all the stories, puzzles, and letters
out. In all cases it would be well to have some correspondence by postal
cards before sending what you wish to exchange. Then the terms could be
clearly arranged, and if any special expense about postage were
probable, that could be arranged too. We can not give addresses and
assist readers to carry on private correspondences, however, except as
they do it in this way.
* * * * *
The following exchanges are offered by correspondents:
A halfpenny English stamp, for a 6-cent Canadian stamp.
H. H. TOLER, Oxford, Butler Co., Ohio.
* * * * *
Moss from Texas and flint flakes, for sea-shells, sea-weed, or
other ocean curiosities (a star-fish especially desired); three
fossil shells, for a Florida sea-bean; petrified moss from
Minnesota, for a king-crab or a horseshoe-crab; eight foreign
stamps, for a perfect specimen of Indian pottery. Please write
before exchanging.
EUGENE FLETCHER,
Box 252, Bryan, Ohio.
* * * * *
Pressed flowers from Missouri, for pressed flowers from any other
State.
ORA W. BOYD,
Box F, Fayette, Howard Co., Mo.
* * * * *
Copper and zinc in crystals, for rare stamps; South American stamps
especially desired.
HENRY A. GILDERSLEEVE,
Ellenville, Ulster Co., N. Y.
* * * * *
A genuine Indian bow, two arrows, and two arrow-heads, for a pair
of ruffle-necks or carrier-pigeons. Please write particulars, and
await reply before exchange.
FRANK A. HERBST,
Box 688, Moline, Ill.
* * * * *
A book entitled _Orient Boys_, by Mrs. S. F. Keene, for _The Young
Nimrods in North America_. Please write and arrange exchange before
sending.
EDW. J. SMITH, Plato Centre, Kane Co., Ill.
* * * * *
A foreign coin of 1832, for an Indian arrow-head.
F. A. JOHNSON, Shirley Village, Mass.
* * * * *
Hematite, mica, limonite, pumice-stone, garnets, iron pyrites, and
magnetic iron ore, for gold, silver, copper, and zinc ores,
graphite, nickel, manganese, agate, pyroxene, tourmaline, and tin
ore. Label specimens.
H. S. WARWICK,
205 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City, N. J.
* * * * *
A handsome paper-knife, for petrifactions, Indian arrow-heads,
ores, etc.; twenty-five foreign stamps, for a Lake Superior agate.
C. S. CRANE,
41 West Forty-fifth St., New York City.
* * * * *
Thirty-four varieties of woods, with the person who offers the
largest number of foreign postage stamps, all different.
WILLIAM B. BUSHONG,
New Holland, Lancaster Co., Penn.
* * * * *
A French coin as large as a silver quarter, date 1782, in good
condition, for U. S. coins, copper cents of 1801, 1804, 1809, 1811,
and an eagle nickel cent of 1856. Write and arrange exchange.
ADD PARKER, Felt's Mills, N. Y.
* * * * *
A piece of stone from Fort Adams, or a stone from inside the
iron-fenced inclosure of the "Old Stone Mill" of Newport, R. I.,
the oldest structure in America, for Indian relics, curiosities,
and fossils; 100 different foreign stamps, for an Indian tomahawk.
GRAHAM LUSK, Guilford, Conn.
* * * * *
Forty-two postmarks, for fourteen foreign stamps. Please send list
of stamps before exchanging. A piece of marble from Illinois, for
one from any other State.
HEUSTED YOUNG,
Care Edward Young, Joliet, Ill.
* * * * *
Postmarks and stamps, for stamps; one postmark from Paris, for a
War Department stamp; and ten from other cities, for other stamps.
H. B. CAMPBELL, State College, Penn.
* * * * *
Minerals and monograms, for stamps and postmarks. Write to arrange
exchange.
G. WARDLAW,
Box 158, New Brighton, Richmond Co., N. Y.
* * * * *
Postmarks, revenue stamps, and business cards, for rare foreign
stamps (no duplicates), five postmarks for one stamp.
F. W. BLODGETT,
282 Greenbush St., Milwaukee, Wis.
* * * * *
One hundred and twenty-five star-fish and thirty-five saddle
shells, for rare stamps, relics, shells, minerals, curiosities of
all kinds, coins, etc.
Box 5, Comstocks, Washington Co., N. Y.
* * * * *
Postmarks, for foreign stamps, five different postmarks for each
stamp; Indian arrow-heads, and bullets from Lookout Mountain
battle-field, for foreign postage stamps.
W. H. FISHER,
510 Wenzel St., between Market and Main,
Louisville, Ky.
* * * * *
For every Indian arrow-head I will send 25 foreign stamps (no
duplicates); for a stone hatchet, 50; for bow and arrows, 100; for
a rattlesnake's rattle, 10; for a star-fish, 10. Specimens must be
labelled, and place where found stated.
JOHN M.,
Room 47, 30 Broad St., New York City.
* * * * *
Stones from Ogeechee River, pine burrs, Spanish moss, and
curiosities, for arrow-heads, spear-heads, foreign stamps, or
curiosities.
ANSON B. CUTTS, Eden, Effingham Co., Ga.
* * * * *
A new printing-press, with complete outfit, or a new scroll-saw and
outfit, for a collection of 1000 or 1500 postage stamps, all
different. Rare duplicates taken.
M. A. CLARK,
519 East 119th St., New York City.
* * * * *
A piece of pepper-tree wood, which grows only in California, and a
piece of eucalyptus wood, which grows only in Australia and
California, for postmarks or stamps (postmarks preferred) from
Bavaria, Cape of Good Hope, Cabool, Japan, China, Mozambique,
Austria, Turkey, France, and Russia.
GRACE BOWERS, San Diego, Cal.
* * * * *
A volume of _Robinson Crusoe_ and one of Hawthorne's
_Wonder-Books_, for four rabbits of any color, three females and
one male. Both books are as good as new, and are illustrated. I
have also _St. Nicholas_ from 1875 to 1880, and will send two years
of that for the rabbits, instead of the books, if preferred. Write
before exchanging.
JAMES VAN DUSEN,
Jamaica Plain P. O., Mass.
* * * * *
A pair of young canary-birds, for a male mocking-bird.
CORA EATON, Ellenville, Ulster Co., N. Y.
* * * * *
I will print the name of any girl or boy on one dozen cards called
"Gems of the Sea-Side," or on bevel gilt-edge cards, for foreign
and old U. S. stamps, old U. S. cents and half-cents,
petrifactions, minerals, ores, medicine stamps, or good
curiosities.
CARL C. WHEELOCK, Woonsocket, R. I.
* * * * *
Woods, sea-shells, and valuable books, for coins, ores, and
minerals; a book, for thirty coins. Write before exchanging.
W. L. WEBER, Summerville, S. C.
* * * * *
Soil from Illinois, for the same from any other State or Territory
except New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio; also one stamp, for any
five postmarks. Write and tell what stamp is required.
W. G. JERRENS, JUN.,
3651 Vincennes Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
* * * * *
Marble, silver, grape, and iron ores, and quartz crystal, for
exchange.
L. S. ROPES, Ishpeming, Mich.
* * * * *
Fifty postmarks, for any Indian relic.
FRED BROOKS, 128 North State St., Chicago, Ill.
* * * * *
A printing-press, for a stamp album with about 500 stamps and
curiosities. Please write to arrange exchange.
HARRY FARR,
256 Carroll St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
* * * * *
Rare postmarks, for rare foreign stamps or coins. Stamps, for
stamps or curiosities.
D. and E. DEWITT,
837 Sixth Avenue, New York City.
* * * * *
Stamps, for exchange.
ROYAL CORTISSOZ,
382 Sackett St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
* * * * *
Foreign stamps, for match and medicine stamps.
G. A. HERTHUM, Box 213, Baton Rouge, La.
* * * * *
Postage stamps from Uruguay, Guinea, Senegambia, Paraguay, Guiana,
Morocco, Persia, for the same number from Newfoundland, Prince
Edward Island, Nova Scotia, East India, Cape of Good Hope, Russia,
Turkey, and China.
HENRY KOENIG,
P. O. Branch C, San Francisco, Cal.
* * * * *
One $2 and one $3 card album, for coins or stamps.
FRANK PUTNAM, Box 100, Salem, Mass.
* * * * *
Curiosities and old U. S. and foreign stamps, for minerals, agates,
ores, old coins, arrow-heads, sea-shells, stamps from any U. S.
department, or a second-hand stamp album.
W. L. DOUGLASS,
Princeton, Bureau Co., Ill.
* * * * *
Eighty-five minerals and curiosities, ten Indian arrow-heads,
pieces of Mound-builders' pottery, carbonate of iron, 350
postmarks, 100 mixed stamps, and a Little Gem rubber family font,
with ink-holder, etc., for a printing-press not less than 5-1/4 by
8-1/2 inches inside of chase; list of specimens for a 1-cent stamp.
Arrange exchange by writing before sending press.
PRINTER, Heckatoo, Lincoln Co., Ark.
* * * * *
Stamps, for stamps. Send list of those desired and those you have;
I will return if I can not exchange.
EDWARD A. CROWNINSHIELD,
Lancaster, Mass.
* * * * *
Buttons with shanks, for silk pieces for a quilt; or silks for
silks.
MAUD UNDERHILL,
Franklin, Essex Co., N. J.
* * * * *
[_For other exchanges, see third page of cover._]
* * * * *
WILD ROSE.--Your little story, though not good enough for publication,
is very well constructed, and is creditable to a girl of fifteen. But
you need to pay attention to punctuation, and to the proper use of
capital letters, quotation marks, etc. We would advise you to take the
advice lately given to Jennie and Julia, and cultivate your mind by
reading good books, and becoming familiar with the best authors. Do not
read too many stories, and wait until you are a good deal older before
you try to write for the papers.
* * * * *
G. C. M.--The mud-turtle can be obtained in the small, sluggish streams
and ditches back of Jamaica, L. I., from ponds in the neighborhood of
Flushing, L. I., and also near Springfield, L. I. One of the very best
fishing grounds for all sorts of specimens for an aquarium is Rockland
Lake, N. Y.
* * * * *
CARRIE M.--PEKIN.--The city of Peking, or Pekin, the northern capital of
China, is situated on the river Tunghui, a tributary of the Pei-Ho. It
consists of Kin-Ching, the prohibited city, where the Emperor and his
immediate suite have their dwellings; of Hwang-Ching, the imperial city,
where many court officials reside; and of a Tartar and Chinese city.
Each of these cities is surrounded by a wall, and the outer wall has
thirteen gates. In Pekin are many magnificent temples and palaces. For
many centuries it was closed to the outside world, but in 1860, by the
Treaty of Tien-Tsin, the British government succeeded in gaining
substantial commercial advantages from the Emperor. In the war which
preceded this treaty the splendid summer palace was pillaged and
destroyed by the French and English forces.
* * * * *
ANXIOUS INQUIRER.--You can present your sketch for an illustration on
ordinary drawing-paper, with common ink or lead-pencil. If you wish to
become a proficient, it will be well for you to acquire the art of
drawing on wood. A fine, hard box-wood is preferred for this purpose.
* * * * *
Robert E. Cranson and Harlan C. Clark withdraw from the exchange list.
* * * * *
Correct answers to puzzles have been received from George Sylvester,
"_Paxton_," "_Jer Z. City_," Charlie Burr, Leo Marks, J. W. Slattery,
Eddie S. Hequembourg, "Dandy," _Augusta Low Parke_, Frank Davis, C. P.
Vogelius, Willie F. Collins, _Agnes F. Fletcher_, "Princess Feather,"
_Frank Lomas_, Jacob Marks, Lilian Holmes, Almon Hazard.
* * * * *
PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.
No. 1.
DOUBLE ACROSTIC.
1. A string. 2. A boy's name. 3. At the back. 4. A girl's name. Primals
and finals are girls' names.
PHIL I. PENE.
* * * * *
No. 2.
HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.
1. A disease. 2. A violent wind. 3. A wild flower. 4. Part of a fence.
5. A crime. 6. A letter found in Thursday. 7. A venomous reptile. 8. A
color. 9. A sign of grief. 10. A bird. 11. To oversee. Centrals read
downward give the name of a river of North America.
A. B. C.
* * * * *
No. 3.
DIAMOND.
A thousand. A darling. A memorial coin. A brown tint. Fifty.
* * * * *
No. 4.
TANGLE.
I am a Swiss river. Change my head, and I become successively an
obstruction, a vehicle, a part of the body, distant, to shake, a Roman
deity, to deface, a sort of propeller, of equal value, a sailor, and a
state of armed enmity.
* * * * *
No. 5.
RIDDLE.
Why will next year be the same as last year?
M. S. B.
* * * * *
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 94.
No. 1.
Abraham Lincoln.
No. 2.
B A R D M A R L
A M O O A G U E
R O A M R U I N
D O M E L E N T
No. 3.
H
T O N
H U S K S
V A C A N C Y
T O N I C
A N T
A
No. 4.
Everlasting. Water-melon. Fox-glove.
* * * * *
To solve the Geographical Puzzle, published on page 704 of No. 96,
substitute the following names in the order given for the portions
inclosed within brackets: Snake, Gardiner, Dexter, Fairweather, Bowling
Green, Lacrosse, Highgate, Start, Wheeling, Banks, Catastrophe, Clew,
Lonely, Black, Snake, Yellow, Gardiner, Little Rock, Snake, False,
Flinders, Eureka, Charlotte, Encounter, Save, Clear, Peace, Race,
Spires, Reunion, Farewell, Gardiner, Flattery.
[Illustration: WANDERING THOUGHTS.]
THROWING LIGHT: WHAT AM I?
BY C. E. M.
I belong to the animal kingdom, yet am made of both wood and metal. In
winter I make my home near a lake or swamp in some warm country, but in
summer-time I occasionally take a flying trip to the North. I can not
live in a cold climate, yet that is the only one in which I am of use.
I have only one arm, with which I can easily lift weights far too heavy
for a man to bear; and although incapable of living without motion, I
may remain suspended in air, and motionless, for years, without injury.
I am especially useful in foundries or upon piers, yet if found in
either of these places I should inevitably be hunted to death.
My favorite diet is small fish and eels, although I have no powers of
digestion, and have never been known to eat even one mouthful.
I belong to no royal line, yet am a crowned head. I utter loud, shrill
cries, although I am mute. Though surrounded by fire, I am not consumed.
I am much admired for my beauty of form and color. Poets have sung my
praises, and I am extensively used in decorative art, yet I doubt if
there ever existed a form more plain and ungainly than mine.
Though innocent of crime, I have been hung; and indeed I can not be said
to have accomplished my mission in life until this has been done to me.
I am considered fair sport for hunters, and in olden times pursuit of me
was a favorite amusement among the nobility. No one has ever thought of
employing me as a police agent, yet once, long ages ago, I indirectly
denounced and brought to judgment the murderers of a wealthy merchant of
world-wide reputation.
The works produced in my name have gladdened the hearts and delighted
the eyes of many children, and grown people as well, both in this
country and in foreign lands.
* * * * *
=The Raccoon.=--The home of the raccoon is generally in a hollow tree; the
young are brought forth in May, and are from four to six in number.
In captivity this animal makes a very cunning and interesting pet, being
easily tamed to follow his master, and when dainties are in view,
becomes a most adroit pickpocket. His food is extensive in variety, thus
making it quite an easy matter to keep the creature in confinement. He
eagerly devours nuts and fruits of all kinds, as well as bread, cake,
and potatoes. He manifests no hesitation at a meal of rabbit, rat,
squirrel, or bird, and rather likes it for a change, and when he can
partake of a dessert of honey or molasses, his enjoyment knows no
bounds.
In cold climates the raccoon lies dormant in the winter, only venturing
out on occasional mild days; but in the Southern States he is active
throughout the year, prowling about by day and by night in search of his
food, inserting his little sharp nose into every corner, and feeling
with his slender paws between stones for spiders and bugs of all kinds.
He spies the innocent frog with his head just out of the water, and
pouncing upon him, he dispatches him without a moment's warning. There
seems to be no limit to his rapacity, for he is always eating and always
hungry. The print of the raccoon's paw in the mud or snow is easily
recognized, much resembling the impression made by the foot of a babe.
The best season for trapping the raccoon is late in the fall, winter,
and early spring, or in and between the months of October and April.
During this time the pelts are in excellent condition. Early in the
spring, when the snow is disappearing, the raccoons come out of their
hiding-places to start on their foraging tours, and at this time are
particularly susceptible to a tempting bait, and they may be
successfully trapped in the following manner:
Take a steel-trap and set it on the edge of some pool or stream which
the raccoons are known to frequent; let it be an inch or so under the
water, and carefully chained to a clog. The bait may consist of a fish,
frog, or head of a fowl, scented with oil of anise, and suspended over
the trap, about two feet higher, by the aid of a sapling secured in the
ground. The object of this is to induce the animal to jump for it, when
he will land with his foot in the trap.--From _Camp Life in the Woods_.
Harper & Brothers.
[Illustration: A TERRIBLE TEMPTATION.
"Say, Billy, how would you like to be left alone wid dat
wagon for twenty minutes?"]